FRISCO - When Kevin Sloane and Bryan Brutsch told the founding group of Quiznos Subs that they could create a better sandwich shop, the group became investors and told them to prove it.

So, the business partners opened the first Smiling Moose Deli in Edwards, said Sloane with a laugh as he recounted the business' beginnings.

Now, just four years later, the restaurant with a quirky, innovative reputation is in four locations and is in the process of opening five more throughout the state, including one in Frisco.

"We created what we consider an upscale style deli ... and it's been incredibly successful," Sloane said.

The deli features homemade soups, salads, breakfast and lunch sandwiches, and it has been rated best of Vail Valley the last four years, he added.

By the end of the year, the nine locations will include the four already open in Edwards, Denver, Silverthorne and Eagle, the two under construction in Frisco and Carbondale and three more in Westminster, Highlands Ranch and Evergreen. Opening day for the store in the shopping center between Wal-Mart and Safeway on Highway 9 is expected about the middle of July, about a year and a half after the one in Silverthorne opened.

Also, Sloane and Brutsch have begun the process to franchise the Smiling Moose - a move that could take the deli national. And in January, the company merged with Pinnacle Restaurant Group, which added CEO Mark Laramie, who has experience with the growth and development of Quiznos, Little Caesars Pizza and Papa Murphy's, to the Smiling Moose team.



Lory Pounder can be reached at (970) 668-4628, or at lpounder@summitdaily.com.